


I heard a rumor...

by SalazarTipton



Category: Daredevil (TV)
Genre: 3 + 1, Daily Bugle, Daredevil & Defenders Exchange 2019, Everyone thinks Daredevil is the Devil, Gen, Mistaken Identity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-26
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-09-26 16:27:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,641
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20392678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalazarTipton/pseuds/SalazarTipton
Summary: Prompt: Some of the residents of Hell's Kitchen genuinely believe Daredevil is the devil. Some commit to praising him, to treating him as their leader. Others are determined to banish him. Matt really just wants to get on with his jobs.





	I heard a rumor...

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StripedScribe](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StripedScribe/gifts).

“Don’t say his name! You want him showing up here?”

“Come on, dude. He’s just some Avengers wannabe. Quit acting like a scared little kid and grab the bags. Do you wanna keep them waiting any longer?”

The younger man ducks his head before he brags the duffel bags and kicks the doors shut. He rounds the van again, but his partner isn’t there. 

“Jason? Come on! I’m not carrying all this by myself.”

The muffled sounds of the city seem to grow louder around him the longer Jason doesn’t reply. He swivels around, trying to see into the darker corners of the alley. It feels like he’s alone, but what if--

“Need a hand?”

“D-Daredevil, sir, I--I,” the twenty-something year old stumbles over his words. The bags fall to his feet before he throws his hands up towards Matt. At first he thinks he’s trying to throw a punch, but his hands clasp in front of him...like he’s praying. “I’ll do whatever you want me to. Whatever you need, just please don’t send me to Hell.”

Behind the mask, Matt blinks rapidly, trying to process what the gangbanger just said. It’s so ridiculous Matt would be laughing if he wasn’t so floored. Do people really think he’s the actual Devil? 

“Judgement isn’t up to any of us, but you need to pay for what you’ve done,” Matt says, trying to ignore the last of the guy’s plea. Just how many people really think he’s the Devil himself? “If you’re concerned for your soul, there’ll be plenty of opportunities in prison to repent.”

* * *

“We can’t let Matt see this,” Foggy says. 

He hears the shuffling of paper and someone crossing the room. He focuses for a moment on who it is; the heartbeat is unmistakable: Karen. Foggy takes the papers from her. The soft pages crinkle in his grip. It must be a newspaper. 

“What do you mean? This is hilarious! Of course we need to tell Matt!” Karen insists. Her heartbeat changing along with her rising excitement. “And how could we keep it from him anyway? He probably checks every now and then to make sure Daredevil isn’t making it into the headlines.”

Foggy sighs and flops into his squeaky desk chair. Matt tries to make out what he’s doing, but he can’t discern what his hands are doing this far away. Something with his hair, maybe? Karen leaves the room and heads back to her desk. Matt waits a few minutes downstairs before making the trek up to the office so they won’t realize he overheard them. 

He opens the door and smiles into the room like normal. “Good morning, Karen.”

“Oh. Hi, Matt,” she greets him. “You want coffee or anything? I just started the pot.” Matt can’t help laughing. 

“No, no, I think I’m good on your coffee for a long while.”

Once he’s tucked away in his office, he pulls out his laptop and connects his headphones. A quick Google search tells him exactly what Foggy was so keen on keeping from him, and he sort of wishes he had taken Foggy’s unwitting advice to remain ignorant, for once. 

_ The Daily Bugle - Satanists Summoning Demons for Daredevil _

_ Late last night a group of Daredevil worshipers were forcibly removed by New York’s finest from the vacant building they were using as a cover for demon summoning. According to an eyewitness, they were trying to pull Daredevil’s underlings out from the pits of Hell to help him terrorize the city alongside our local menace: Spider-Man! The two red-clad threats to public safety were spotted last week breaking into an elderly woman’s apartment... _

Matt exits He wouldn’t expect anything better from the trash fire that is the Bugle. He’s heard all about the filth they run about Peter, like the “paper” has a personal grudge against the kid when he’s really the best of all of them. It’s all buzzwords and fear mongering, but after his last few run-ins with people thinking he’s really the Devil, Matt can’t help but let himself postulate the truth behind the tabloid article. 

He and Peter weren’t breaking into some old lady’s apartment; they were tracking down one of Fisk’s men who were using the building as a cover. They ever called the police to the location afterwards, leaving the man gift-wrapped in bruises and webbing after he gave them the information they needed to stop a weapons deal from going down. Why would they get the police involved if they were at fault in the first place?

_ Okay _ , Matt concedes, _ maybe I shouldn’t be putting so much stock in anything that comes from the Bugle. _

* * *

Matt settles into a crouch on the corner of a roof (one of his usual ‘lookout’ spots) listening to the cacophony of the city below. He sifts through the normal sounds of families, offices, and traffic to pick out anything unusual. A few blocks over a man is teaching his dog how to whisper; someone just dropped a glass when they walked into a room and found their roommate naked; a group of teens walking down the sidewalk are talking about water guns--all just day-in-the-life things. Nothing needing Daredevil. He shifts to a more comfortable position, settling in to wait. 

It's been a long time since his city hasn't needed him for a night. He can't imagine tonight would be quiet. He hones into the sounds below and lets them wash over him, playing a thousand plays as he tries to pick out one to inject on. After an hour or so, Matt stiffens when something lands a few rooftops away from him, but relaxes almost as quickly. He listens as the footsteps get faster to jump the gap between buildings and the person lands a few yards from him. 

"Slow night, Double D?" Peter asks, taking it upon himself to sit beside Matt with his legs dangling over the edge of the roof. 

"Seems like it, but I doubt it'll last. Same for you? It's not often I see you around here without a reason to come calling." 

Peter shrugs. "City's quiet for once. Figured I see if there was anything you wanted a hand with."

"And this has nothing to do with your favorite newspaper turning its interest on me, right?"

"Okay, fine. You caught me. I'm concerned about you, so sue me--oh wait! You actually would," Peter says with a laugh, knocking his shoulder against Matt's. 

Matt rolls his eyes under the cowl. 

“How do people actually think I’m the Devil? Do they honestly think he’d be dressed up in red, beating up criminals?” he wonders aloud. He knows Peter doesn’t have the answers, but it’s not like he wants to bring this topic up with Foggy or somebody. 

“I mean, J. Jonah Jameson has it out for me, always has--not that I know why. They just toss together whatever sounds scandalous and count on the clickbait headlines to bring in the hits and paper sales. It’s awful that they’re bringing you into it, but like Aunt May told me, you just gotta ignore it. When have you ever been interested in what the papers are saying about you anyway? I mean look at what they did to you after Frank’s trial, right?” 

Peter’s got a point. Matt’s just been letting all of this go to his head. A few offhand comments from his foes and a tabloid article shouldn’t be weighing on him this much. Vigilantes are all around, so why would people jump to the Devil conclusion instead of the obvious? Especially when he’s been seen working with Spidey, Deadpool, Luke, and even Frank from time to time. He’s not the real Devil; he’s Daredevil. The city knows that. 

The teens from before round the corner, walking right underneath the two of them still arguing about water guns of all things. Peter tilts his head at them like he’s trying to figure out the point of their conversation. It only takes a few more seconds for Matt to wish he just spent the night in on his couch or out with Foggy and Karen at Josie’s. 

“No, I’m telling you! The only way anyone could defeat Daredevil is with holy water in the gun. You can’t just bless the gun itself. This isn’t some monster hunting tv show or something.”

“How would you know? You’ve never even read the Bible!”

“Oh my god, dude. Do you honestly think the Bible has a section on spraying holy water on the Devil?”

Peter coughs beside Matt trying to mask his laugh. Matt’s hopeful mood is long gone. He pushes Peter’s shoulders, sending him falling off the building. He clings to the brick just a few feet lower and huffs. 

“Seriously?!”

* * *

“I heard a rumor that Daredevil opened up the ground underneath a guy, sending him straight to hell! Guess the guy was so bad the ‘devil didn’t want to wait his turn to dole out his punishment.”

The men beneath him stand up, getting ready to make their move. Matt shoves his thoughts back and prepares to let the devil out...okay maybe he can see where there could be confusion. He drops down behind the man that was speaking. 

“You know what happens when you speak of the devil?” he growls out. He bares his teeth in a vicious smile. 

The other men trip over themselves in an effort to get away the second they realize who (or what) he is. Matt puts the first man down and follows suit. They don’t get very far; Matt’s never been one to play with his prey and this is a time sensitive mission. The world of human trafficking slows down for no one, although putting the fear of the ‘Devil into them certainly seems to tip things into Matt’s favor. 

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!!! i'd love to hear your favorite part down in the comments, or just anything you liked really. find me on [tumblr](http://creaturejaskier.tumblr.com)


End file.
